Terms Used In Louisiana Revised Statutes > Title 40 > Chapter 6 > Part III > Subpart B - Insurance Fraud Investigation Unit

• Amendment: A proposal to alter the text of a pending bill or other measure by striking out some of it, by inserting new language, or both. Before an amendment becomes part of the measure, thelegislature must agree to it.
• Amortization: Paying off a loan by regular installments.
• Appropriation: The provision of funds, through an annual appropriations act or a permanent law, for federal agencies to make payments out of the Treasury for specified purposes. The formal federal spending process consists of two sequential steps: authorization
• Attorney-in-fact: A person who, acting as an agent, is given written authorization by another person to transact business for him (her) out of court.
• Commissioner: means commissioner of insurance. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 40:1421
• Consumer: means any person who uses, purchases, or leases goods or services. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 51:1402
• Contract: A legal written agreement that becomes binding when signed.
• Conviction: A judgement of guilt against a criminal defendant.
• Corporation: A legal entity owned by the holders of shares of stock that have been issued, and that can own, receive, and transfer property, and carry on business in its own name.
• Damages: Money paid by defendants to successful plaintiffs in civil cases to compensate the plaintiffs for their injuries.
• Discovery: Lawyers' examination, before trial, of facts and documents in possession of the opponents to help the lawyers prepare for trial.
• Evidence: Information presented in testimony or in documents that is used to persuade the fact finder (judge or jury) to decide the case for one side or the other.
• Fiscal year: The fiscal year is the accounting period for the government. For the federal government, this begins on October 1 and ends on September 30. The fiscal year is designated by the calendar year in which it ends; for example, fiscal year 2006 begins on October 1, 2005 and ends on September 30, 2006.
• Fraud: Intentional deception resulting in injury to another.
• Fraud support unit: means the insurance fraud support unit within the Department of Justice. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 40:1421
• Improper means: includes theft, bribery, misrepresentation, breach, or inducement of a breach of a duty to maintain secrecy, or espionage through electronic or other means. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 51:1431
• Injunction: An order of the court prohibiting (or compelling) the performance of a specific act to prevent irreparable damage or injury.
• Insurance fraud: means any commission or attempted commission of criminal acts or practices as provided in La. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 40:1421
• Insurance fraud section: means the insurance fraud section within the Louisiana Department of Insurance. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 40:1421
• Insurance policy: means a contract or other written instrument between an insured and insurer setting forth the obligations and responsibilities of each party. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 40:1421
• Insurance professional: means an adjuster, agent, managing general agent, surplus lines broker, reinsurance intermediary, insurance consultant, broker, or attorney-in-fact. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 40:1421
• Insured: means any person covered by an insurance policy. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 40:1421
• Insurer: means any person or company subject to regulation pursuant to Title 22 of the Louisiana Revised Statutes of 1950. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 40:1421
• Jurisdiction: (1) The legal authority of a court to hear and decide a case. Concurrent jurisdiction exists when two courts have simultaneous responsibility for the same case. (2) The geographic area over which the court has authority to decide cases.
• LATIFPA: means the Louisiana Automobile Theft and Insurance Fraud Prevention Authority within the Louisiana Department of Insurance. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 40:1421
• Litigation: A case, controversy, or lawsuit. Participants (plaintiffs and defendants) in lawsuits are called litigants.
• Misappropriation: means :

  (a)  acquisition of a trade secret of another by a person who knows or has reason to know that the trade secret was acquired by improper means; or

  (b)  disclosure or use of a trade secret of another without express or implied consent by a person who:

  (i)  used improper means to acquire knowledge of the trade secret; or

  (ii)  at the time of disclosure or use, knew or had reason to know that his knowledge of the trade secret was:

  (aa)  derived from or through a person who had utilized improper means to acquire it;

  (bb)  acquired under circumstances giving rise to a duty to maintain its secrecy or limit its use; or

  (cc)  derived from or through a person who owed a duty to the person seeking relief to maintain its secrecy or limit its use; or

  (iii)  before a material change of his position, knew or had reason to know that it was a trade secret and that knowledge of it had been acquired by accident or mistake. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 51:1431

• Oath: A promise to tell the truth.
• Obligation: An order placed, contract awarded, service received, or similar transaction during a given period that will require payments during the same or a future period.
• Partnership: A voluntary contract between two or more persons to pool some or all of their assets into a business, with the agreement that there will be a proportional sharing of profits and losses.
• person: includes a body of persons, whether incorporated or not. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 1:10
• Person: means a natural person, corporation, trust, partnership, incorporated or unincorporated association, and any other legal entity. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 51:1402
• Person: means a natural person, corporation, business trust, estate, trust, partnership, association, joint venture, government, governmental subdivision or agency, or any other legal or commercial entity. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 51:1431
• Restitution: The court-ordered payment of money by the defendant to the victim for damages caused by the criminal action.
• Subpoena: A command to a witness to appear and give testimony.
• Tort: A civil wrong or breach of a duty to another person, as outlined by law. A very common tort is negligent operation of a motor vehicle that results in property damage and personal injury in an automobile accident.
• Trade secret: means information, including a formula, pattern, compilation, program, device, method, technique, or process, that:

  (a)  derives independent economic value, actual or potential, from not being generally known to and not being readily ascertainable by proper means by other persons who can obtain economic value from its disclosure or use, and

  (b)  is the subject of efforts that are reasonable under the circumstances to maintain its secrecy. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 51:1431

• Transcript: A written, word-for-word record of what was said, either in a proceeding such as a trial or during some other conversation, as in a transcript of a hearing or oral deposition.
• unit: means the insurance fraud investigation unit within the Department of Public Safety and Corrections, office of state police. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 40:1421